BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team will play host to the Martin Methodist Redhawks on Monday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs open their 2012-13 home schedule at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Fans unable to attend Monday's game in person can follow along via Samford's free Live-Stream. The contest will also be broadcast locally on 97.3 FM The Zone and Live Stats will be provided on SamfordSports.com.
 
Samford (0-1) heads into its home-opening contest looking to rebound from a 75-64 road loss to Austin Peay on Friday. Despite only shooting 2-for-24 (8.3 percent) from 3-point range, the Bulldogs rallied to within five points, 51-46, in the second half of play before Austin Peay fought off Samford's rally to hold on for the win at the Dunn Center.
 
Samford true freshman Tim Williams scored a game-high 23 points in his college debut Friday. The Bulldogs' highly-touted native of Chicago, Ill., also posted a double-double with 10 rebounds and knocked down 10-of-18 of his attempts from the field.
 
Sophomore point guard Raijon Kelly registered 11 points on a 5-of-15 performance from the field, while Tyler Hood chipped in with nine points, all of which were scored in the second half of play.
 
Martin Methodist (2-2) heads into Monday's contest with hopes of snapping its two-game losing streak. Since opening their 2012-13 schedule with back-to-back victories against Fisk University, 79-69, and College of Coastal Georgia, 64-59, the Redhawks have dropped consecutive games to Brewton-Parker, 52-46, and No. 3-ranked Georgetown College, 78-65.
 
Martin Methodist boasts three players averaging double figures in scoring this season. The Redhawks' Marlon Williams leads the team with 15.3 points per game this year, while Davie Champagnie has averaged 13.5 points per contest throughout the young 2012-13 campaign. Martin Methodist's third leading scorer is Justin Blake with 11 points per outing.
 
Samford will square off against Martin Methodist for the first time in school history Monday. Martin Methodist is an NAIA school located in Pulaski, Tenn., and was founded in 1870. Martin Methodist has an enrollment of 1,079 students and plays competitively in the TranSouth Conference.
 
As freshmen in 2011-12, the Bulldogs' duo comprised of Kelly and Hood was named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman Team. Collectively, the pair averaged 20.5 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per contest and 106 assists over the course of the season.
 
Individually, Kelly finished his true freshman campaign averaging 9.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Samford's native of St. Paul, Minn., concluded the year ranked third on the team in scoring and logged an average of 28.2 minutes of game action per outing.
 
Hood, as a redshirt freshman in 2011-12, led the Bulldogs in scoring nine times and registered 19 double-digit scoring performances. Samford's 6-foot-6 native of Lenoir City, Tenn., finished the season ranked second on the team in scoring (11.1 ppg) and fourth on the team in rebounds (3.6 pg.). Hood also concluded the year ranked 14th in the SoCon in field-goal percentage (47.0)
 
Samford fans will notice a huge change in the Bulldogs' offensive attack this season. For the previous 14 years, Samford perennially ran its version of the Princeton offense under former Head Coach Jimmy Tillette. This season, the Bulldogs will deploy an entirely different offensive theory as Head Coach Bennie Seltzer plans to utilize fast breaks, pick and rolls and slashing cuts to the basket.
 
A key mantra in Seltzer's philosophy is Intensity. The Bulldogs' first-year head coach always played with Intensity throughout his illustrious playing career at Washington State, and he brings that same mindset to Samford University and his Bulldog players.
 
This season, Samford's practice shorts have INTENSITY prominently featured on the backside, because Seltzer wants his players to always be reminded about what it takes to win games.
 
Following Monday's home-opening contest against Martin Methodist, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to Louisville, Ky., for a date with the second-ranked Louisville Cardinals to be held at the KFC Yum! Center (22,000).